Icha Icha Annoying
by tumbleB
Summary: Maikio Kouin just could not believe he had gotten her to read yet another of those corny ‘romance’ novels as he put it. Of course, she would never openly admit to him, that she actually liked them. And maybe she pretended that reading them was overrated..


I've never really written a one-shot before so here's my first try?

This is AU. In this story: Naruto didn't give Icha Icha Tactics to Kakashi, so he had to wait for it to be released. And Jiraiya still died :'{.

Kakaxoc

Icha Icha Annoying

Maikio Kouin just could not believe he had gotten her to read yet _another_ of those corny 'romance' novels as he put it. Of course, she would never openly admit to him, that she actually liked them. And _maybe_ she pretended that reading them was overrated, but she had gotten the other two books with him already, so what was buying just one more going to hurt? She was casually practicing her already perfect taijutsu, when poof; the most annoying, lazy, careless, egotistical creature of a man appeared with his infamous orange book held about seven inches from his face. Now, Kouin is not one to get distracted or even bothered easily, but as soon as she heard that smooth voice say,

"Try using your right foot more."

"Excuse me?" She managed to bite back a rude tone, but her lavender eyes flashed dangerously as she looked over her shoulder to the man.

"Try using your right foot more." Hatake Kakashi repeated, not once glancing away from the bane of Kouin's existence, Icha Icha Paradise. His unruly silver mop of hair gently swayed in the soft breeze that was keeping Konoha cool in the current blistering summer. Kouin turned to fully face him, one hand perfectly planted on her hip in a sure sign of impatience. She noticed that the eye not hidden by his hitai-ate sneaked a look at her every few seconds.

"I think I know how to balance myself, Hatake-san." Kouin said with a hint of arrogance.

"I have no doubt of that, Kouin-chan." Again with the lone coal black eye peeking at her.

"I do believe that I am only three years younger than you. The suffix is not needed." She knew exactly why he had come to visit her. The barely concealed excitement was enough to tip of even a genin at Kakashi's emotions. Normally his face would be a stoic mask, but because today happened to be so very important…

"Ah, but it's too much fun teasing you, Kouin-_chan_." Straightening her back, Kouin walked right up the infamous Copy Ninja and pulled the bright orange book down to look into his eye.

"We both know why you're practically giggling like a school girl on her first date, Hatake." Now, Hatake Kakashi is a fairly attractive man. His face is, or what you can see of it, is pleasantly tanned, as most shinobi are. The rest of his body, well, that is where the word, 'delicious' comes into play. If you have ever been graced with the chance of seeing Hatake Kakashi without a shirt, let's just say you will not see a more beautifully muscled chest than that. Kouin just so happened to be one of the lucky few that has seen him without a shirt, unfortunately, she just does not find the appeal of a lazy, know-it-all who is always late, and by the looks of it, never even brushes his hair.

"Oh? Are you familiar with that feeling?" He asked so innocently with his visible eyebrow raised, that anyone would believe he is simply curious. Kouin knows better. "I was under the impression you had never been on a date. Always turned the poor boys down." And there it was. The gibe Kouin was waiting for.

"I've been on a few dates for your information, Hatake-san. It just happens that I'm more focused on keeping my spot as number one ANBU captain." Still not one to be easily troubled by petty insults, Kouin quickly snatched the perverted man's book away from his grasp and started walking towards the shopping center of Konoha. Her long red hair, securely tied into a braid whipping behind her. It did not take long to notice that Kakashi was not following her. "What's the matter, Hatake-san? Old age getting to you? Can't even keep up." She playfully taunted. If one thing really got to him, Kouin knew it was jokes about his age.

"I'm keeping up just fine, Kouin-chan." He suddenly appeared by her side, this time a red book in front of his nose. She sighed and decided to do the same of the silver haired shinobi beside her and read the book she took from him. They walked in peaceful familiarity, not once looking away from their respective 'romance' novels. That is until Kakashi suddenly broke the silence.

"Tell me, Kouin," he began, "why do you not date?" She was about to tell him _again_, that it was because of ANBU, but he cut her off. "Don't use that excuse again. You and I both know you are nowhere close to losing your spot." The book in Kouin's grip lowered slightly from her face as she peered up at him. She gently began chewing her bottom lip, a habit that she had yet to outgrow.

"Why the sudden interest?" She answered with a question of her own. Lavender met coal in a curious search. Kakashi simply shrugged however, returned to reading his book, and that was the end of that. Or so Kouin thought. It was not until they had reached the one bookstore of Konoha that sold the Icha Icha series that Kakashi breached the subject of Kouin's love life once more.

"You're what, eighteen?" He asked as Kouin found the newest, and sadly, last of Jiraiya's books, Icha Icha Tactics. She traced the spine of green paperback book slowly. This action did not go unnoticed by Kakashi. She grabbed two books from the shelf while scoffing at the man next to her.

"You know I'm twenty-six, almost twenty-seven." Kouin rolled her eyes while handing one of the green books to Kakashi.

"Ah, I forget, you're just so short." His visible eye closed and she could see the outline on his mask of a smile. Sadly, what he said was true. Kouin only came up to Kakashi's shoulder at her full height.

"So you're what, forty-something?" She called to him as she walked towards a register to pay for the piece of literature, _if _you could call it that. She smirked in satisfaction as his smile dropped and his coal eye opened to glare at her.

"Didn't you tell me we are only three years apart?" Kakashi asked dryly, following suit by paying for his own copy of Icha Icha Tactics.

"Did I?" I blink at him in mock surprise as we exit the store, nonchalantly strolling down the semi-packed streets of Konohagakure. "I forget, you just look so _old_." She giggled at him, not failing to notice his face darkening. They kept walking, Kouin with a smile on her face at besting the witty Hatake Kakashi and him following her, fallowing in self-pity. He did not say anything for awhile, which rather worried Kouin. She turned to face him, cocking her head to the side while examining the poor man. "Come on, Hatake-san. It was a joke." She waved her wand dismissively at him and folded her hands behind her head. Her friend merely looked at her carefully still not talking. So, Kouin suddenly stopped walking, making Kakashi collide into her and them both unceremoniously crash to the ground; each of their bags holding the precious new books falling out of their hands.

"Hey!" He groaned from on top of Kouin, who was being crushed by the jounin.

"Whoops," is all she said, hiding her smirk at her impulsive plan working. The two of them did not move for a while, just lying on the ground. Well, Kouin was lying on the ground, Kakashi was lying _on her_. "Hatake-san, you, umm, want to get up now?" She chewed her bottom lip nervously.

"No. I'm fine where I am." He answered her with a happy eye crease. "It seems since I'm so old, I just can't move as well as I used to." Okay, so she deserved that. She struggled from under him, but he would not move.

"You're not old, Kakashi." Kouin sighed, giving up. Said man's eye moved to stare down at her, and she involuntarily gulped at the look he was giving her. That was when she finally realized how intimately close they were. One of Kakashi's legs was between hers; his elbows were on either side of her face, framing it, and her chest was pushed up flat against his.

"You know, Kouin," he began, not looking away from her lavender eyes, "You could get pretty much any guy in Konoha easily, yet you don't seem to care."

"Why should I?" She asked him, trying to shrug, but their current proximity forbade it. "Dating doesn't appeal to me. Why date someone, when you or the one you are with could die any time they are on a mission or you are. The life we shinobi have is not easy. At any moment we could be attacked and very likely die. I don't want to take chances." She said softly, a burning in the back of her throat made her voice catch.

"Kouin…" Kakashi whispered, carefully cupping her left cheek with his hand.

"I don't want to get hurt again." Tears pricked at her eyes, begging to fall, and for the first time in ten years, she let them. The former ANBU tenderly wiped the tears streaking Kouin's cheeks as they fell. She suddenly pulled her arms out from under Kakashi and pushed him away. This was way too awkward for her right now. Using her arm to wipe the tears roughly from her face, she sprinted away leaving a stunned Kakashi behind. Kouin blindly ran through Konoha until she came to the edge of the forest. She hesitated a moment before continuing in her mission to get as far away from the hurt emotions as possible. Her tears would not stop, as if they had just been waiting for this breakdown for all those years to spring loose. Kouin jumped into the trees to fly from branch to branch. She carried on like this, willing the pain in her heart to stop, but it would not. She absolutely hated crying. Shinobi should not have emotions or let feelings get to them. That was how she was taught. All of a sudden, Kouin was falling through the air. She had miscalculated one of her jumps and missed the branch she was aiming more. She could not move to save herself from hitting the ground. She felt so numb and tired. Then two strong arms wrapped around her waist and gently brought her to the ground. The arms cradled her and held her to a man's chest. Her still falling tears soaked the navy blue shirt of the man holding her. Kakashi placed his chin on Kouin's head and let her cry. He did not say anything to comfort her. In all honesty, he did not quite know how. He never really had to deal with women crying before, nor did he want to. But for Kouin, he would take a kunai to the leg just to sit with her and see her smile, watch her stunning lavender eyes shine when she says a joke, even when she teased him, he cannot help but simply enjoy spending time with her. Yes, Hatake Kakashi had grown very attached to Maikio Kouin and he did not ever want to let her go.

Kouin awoke feeling oddly refreshed. Her eyelids fluttered open and she found herself in an unknown location, lying on a bed with a blanket wrapped around her. Kouin slowly sat up to get a better look around the room when her eyes landed on the silver haired ninja sitting on a chair in a corner of the room with a familiar green paperback book in front of his face. He was not wearing his hitai-ate but his Sharingan eye was closed.

"I thought the rule was we read it together," She gently scolded him. Kakashi looked over the book to Kouin.

"You were asleep," he shrugged, "I couldn't bear the thought of waking you up from such a peaceful slumber." She rolled her eyes and then suddenly remembered why she had slept so soundly. Lavender eyes widened and frantically searched Kakashi's face for any sign of a coy remark.

"Hatake-san, I-I didn't mean to do that. Oh gods, I'm so stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." she chastised, her cheeks growing hot from a blush. Kakashi just stared at her, watching in amusement as she freaked out.

"Kouin, don't worry," he told her gently while standing up from the chair. Kouin watched him as he approached her, not removing the book from in front of him. He kneeled down to be eye level with her. Kouin almost gasped when his other eye opened to reveal the scarlet red Sharingan. But what he did next really sent her through a loop. Kakashi unhurriedly lowered Icha Icha Tactics from his face. A straight nose, high cheeked boned cheeks, thin lips, and an angular chin make themselves known. She blinked a few times and pinched herself to make sure this wasn't a dream. Kakashi chuckled softly at Kouin's antics.

"Hatake-sa-" she began but Kakashi cut her off.

"No more Hatake-san, please. It makes me feel even older." He smiled at her, and Kouin's breathing momentarily stopped. She never thought Kakashi would be, well, _this_ handsome. Her hand lifted itself and went to touch his face. This just did not seem real, that was until she cupped his cheek and he actually nuzzled his face into her palm. With his eyes closed and his mask really off, he did look a lot younger than twenty-nine.

"Hata-Kakashi?" Kouin corrected herself quickly.

"Yes?" He replied without opening his eyes.

"Why did you chase after me?" She could not help herself, curiosity was picking at her. Kakashi did not answer her; instead his eyes flickered open to look at her.

"Is it safe to say I care about you, Kouin?" He told her with a sigh. She stared at him for a minute, not really understanding his words.

"We're friends…" she trailed off.

"What if I like you more than that?" Kakashi asked, his eyes sparkling with slight hope.

"I don't want to take chances and I don't want to get hurt again." She voiced again quietly looking away from him and pulling her hand away from his cheek. Kakashi immediately missed the warmth of her hands.

"Look at me, Kouin," he demanded. She gradually did as he said, "Being a shinobi is about taking chances half the time. Getting hurt is part of it too. But being able to move on after and become stronger is the most important. You can't live in fear of what might happen." Kakashi countered then added with a small smile, "That takes all the fun out of it."

Kouin nodded her agreement and decided to change the subject. "So where's my Icha Icha?"

"I thought you didn't like them?" he pouted childishly at her.

"What if I actually like them a lot?" She chewed her bottom lip glancing away.

"Well, that changes things, doesn't it, Kouin-chan?" Kakashi's pout turned into a smirk as he pulled out another green book from behind his back. "What are you willing to do for it?" He arched an eyebrow suggestively at her, and cue yet another blush.

"You pervert!" She shouted at him and reached for the book, but Kakashi held it above his head and laughed.

"Now, now, I just want a kiss."

"A k-kiss?" Kouin blinked at him slowly. Would she really get to kiss him?

"You bet," Kakashi dipped his head. Kouin mused over her options for a second before coming to a decision.

"Al-alright," she did not mean for her voice to crack, but nerves got the best of her.

"Close your eyes," he commanded softly and she did as she was told. Kouin felt his warm breath blow across her lips. "Are you sure about this, Kouin?"

"Yes," she muttered almost choosing to close the distance herself, but Kakashi did that for. His lips were affectionate on her own; like he was making sure she would not pull away. With a smile, Kouin pressed her mouth harder against his. Kakashi's hands moved to go around her waist and pull her closer while Kouin's went to feel his face without the mask, but Kakashi slowly pulled away. He knew that if they kept going they would go too far, and she was not ready for that just yet.

"Wow," Kakashi tucked a stray piece of red hair behind Kouin's ear.

"I take it you liked that," he beamed at her and she nodded with a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Can I have my book now?" Kouin sheepishly grinned at him.

"Depends," he winks, "can I have another kiss?"

"You're so annoying," Kouin playfully poked him on the forehead.

"Yeah, but you love it," he flashed a devilishly handsome smile as he took her hand and placed a kiss on her palm.

"Maybe," she smiled too using her other hand to grab the back of his neck and pull his lips to hers again.


End file.
